“Why do you cry, Daniel?” Jennet asked, clearly puzzled. “I did not mean to make you sad.”
“I’m not sad, lass. I’m grateful,” he said, finally grinning. “Go on. I wish to hear all about it.”
His aunt put her arm around Jennet. “Those are tears of joy. He appreciates what you’ve done for him.”
Brigid glanced up at Daniel, grinning at him. “I helped put it together, too. Though Jennet did all of the planning.”
“My thanks to both of you.”
“If you hold your arm out, I will demonstrate,” Jennet said.
Daniel did as she asked, and she slipped the leather device over his forearm. “Now, my mother and I and Brigid all thought it would work best if we could tie it over your shoulder like so.” She tried to tie it, but her mother stepped in to adjust it.
“Daniel, this may require some further adjustment, but you can try it and tell us how you think it works. Go ahead, Jennet, and explain the rest.”
The wee lass pulled something out of the end of the odd appendage. “I had the blacksmith assist me with this. These are the parts you can extend if you wish it to pick something up. See?” She moved the metal parts in a demonstration. “If you pull on this lever, these pieces will move outward so you can grasp something with it.”
“But I cannot pull with my stump, Jennet,” he explained.
“Of course not. I misspoke. If you push on the lever, it should work. You can feel and push with the stump, can you not?”
“Aye, I can.” Hope soared in his heart.
Aunt Brenna stepped forward. “Why don’t you try it for yourself, Daniel? I can hold it, if you like.”
“Aye, I’d like to try.”
His cousins formed a circle around him and watched as he maneuvered Jennet’s creation, wiggling and adjusting it. Eventually, he was able to push the lever, sending the metal pieces out toward a linen on the table. When they deftly grabbed the fabric, everyone erupted with applause, clapping both him and Jennet on the back.
And he stood there and cried like a lass. “Jennet, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“And me, too,” Brigid said.
“And you, too, Brigid.” He gave them each a hug and hugged Aunt Brenna, as well.
Jennet said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to watch you use it so I can make any adjustments you may need, whether to the fabric inside, the leather, or the metal. The blacksmith has agreed to adjust it as needed for you.”
Daniel stopped his tears and said, “I’d be honored to have you come with me.”
How he wished Constance were here to see Jennet’s invention.
Maybe there was hope for them yet.
Chapter Ten
Constance sat in the makeshift nursery surrounded by wee lasses. There were no lads in the group, to her surprise, but she thought perhaps that was for the best. She was working with two of the eldest lasses, teaching them the letters of the alphabet, and they were doing well.
At the end of the lesson, she headed over to the other part of the large chamber, joining in a game with the younger ones.
A wee lass came over and leaned against Constance’s leg. “Constie, up, pweez?”
She was only two summers, and one leg was noticeably shorter than the other, so it was exhausting for her to walk. “Aye, Kelby.” She picked up the dark-haired lass, who quickly dropped her head on Constance’s shoulder.
“I tired,” she murmured, sticking her thumb in her mouth. “I go see Mama?”
“Nay, we cannot see your mama. She’s gone to heaven, lass.” It had pained Constance to learn of the circumstances that had brought some of the children here. Kelby’s mother had died giving birth to a younger brother, though the lad had lived. The father had decided to keep the lad and give the lass away, simply because she “wasn’t like the rest.”
Couldn’t he see that it wasn’t Kelby’s fault that one leg was shorter than the other? She still worked as hard as any other lass. She practiced and practiced, but her gait had a hitch to it and she often fell down. But her efforts to simply walk were much more exhausting for her. The lass closed her eyes and Constance hummed a tune to her. The sweet bairn had quickly stolen a piece of her heart.
Kelby had come to Constance as soon as she’d seen her walk. “You same as Kebby?”
Constance hadn’t known what she meant, but then when she walked over to pick the wee lass up, Kelby had pointed to her foot and said, “You walk like Kebby.” Indeed, she did walk much like the girl with the strange gait.
Mother Abbess strolled inside. “All is well with the bairns. Ada?”
Ada nodded. She too had been asked to help care for the children.
The abbess continued on over to Constance’s spot. “Kelby is quite taken with you, Constance. You’ve done a fine job with the wee ones today.”
“My thanks, Mother Abbess.” She was trying her best to work hard, to love the bairns, and to forget about Daniel and Rose. It was a constant struggle but keeping busy did make it easier.
“I have such hopes for you, yet you continue to disappoint me.” The abbess crossed her arms and stared at the other children, her gaze not meeting Constance’s.
“I…I don’t understand.” What had she done now? She’d done everything she could in the past few days to help the abbess and keep a smile on her face.
She’d tried so hard to forget the man she’d fallen in love with.
She just stared at the abbess, waiting for the bad news.
“You said your sire was Mungo MacKenzie?”
Now she knew she was in big trouble. “Aye,” she squeaked.
“There is no Mungo MacKenzie who could be your sire. You fabricated that name, lass.”
Constance dropped her gaze and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the sweet breath of the child sleeping on her shoulder so she would not panic.
“There is a Mungo MacKenzie south of here, but he has no bairns.”
Caught again. Aye, she hadn’t expected this response, but she was not surprised that he’d been sent away by her sire and moved far away.
“Mayhap ’tis time for you to go to the punishment cell.”
Constance couldn’t argue this time, so she kissed Kelby’s forehead just to give her a small consolation for the time she’d be away from her.
So be it.
***
Daniel tugged on his new hand, making sure it held in place, then stepped back into the clearing they’d been using to practice not far from the lists, listening to his cousins hollering at him and his opponent as they began to face off. Daniel had always focused on making himself stronger, believing he had to work harder to take on a man with two hands, and his work had paid off. His muscle mass seemed an even match for the brawn of Cailean MacAdam, the man who’d married Gavin’s sister Sorcha.
“Cailean, he’s going to take you out,” Connor yelled. “Go after him, Daniel. You can put him down. You’ll become the treun, the champion of all.”
Daniel had become quite fond of his new hand over the past week. His cousins had helped him train with it, culminating in this fight. Cailean MacAdam was deemed to be the toughest opponent with his bare fists.
Will and Maggie had joined them last night, talking about new leads they had on the Channel of Dubh. Due to the hard work of the Band of Cousins, the underground network had gone even farther underground.
Instead of stealing brides as was often done in the past, reivers stole the lasses just to sell them. They awaited the return of Uncle Logan from Edinburgh before they made a new plan.
Now that Daniel could fight, he was determined to dive into this battle and do his best to win it.
Daniel rubbed his eye and spat. He already had one swollen eye thanks to Connor, and many bruises from the others. This was his first battle against Cailean. They had a gentleman’s agreement not to punch in the kidneys or the groin. Aunt Brenna had insisted.
As they circled, Daniel caught sight of a couple of new attendees out of the corn
er of his good eye—Uncle Logan.
And his sire.
“Papa?” he asked, his fist still raised in front of his face to protect himself.
“Daniel? You’re fighting with your fist? Where is your sword? And what the devil is that thing on your other arm?”
“Papa, I’m fine. I just need practice.” He continued to face Cailean, dodging his swings and maneuvering around him in the small area.
Uncle Logan was two steps behind his sire. “What the hell is this? I didn’t expect to find you two in the lists. I need all the men I can get to fight this battle against the Channel of Dubh. I don’t need you killing each other. MacAdam, step aside.” Cailean MacAdam respected his wife’s father, mostly because Logan scared the hell out of him. He took a step back and held his hands in the air.
Daniel stopped to face his uncle and shouted, “Nay, Uncle Logan. I need this.”
Cailean hadn’t moved yet, but he also hadn’t resumed the fight.
“Why, Daniel?” his sire asked.
Daniel held his new extension up for both of them to see. “I’m practicing with Jennet’s contraption. I need to be able to defend myself.”
“What is that?” his sire asked.
“My treun.” He glanced over at Connor and winked at him. He’d liked that suggestion. “The secret weapon that will help make me a champion.” The Gaelic word for champion was exactly what he needed. He’d call the contraption Treun.
Uncle Logan moved closer to take a better look at it. “Brigie told me they were working on it. Are you able to stabilize it?” he asked, putting his hand out to feel it before giving it a good yank.
His father’s brow furrowed. “Jennet and Brigid did this for you?”
“With Aunt Brenna’s help,” he replied. “I’m not swinging with it because of the metal bits inside, but I am trying to learn to use it to defend myself. Some of these men we face are ruthless.”
Uncle Logan glanced at Daniel’s sire, who gave him a slight nod, then pursed his lips and said, “I’ll not stop you then, but remember, your enemy also has something new to grab on to.”
“Understood. Cailean, you take first shot.” Daniel stepped back into the clearing, easily dodging Cailean’s first swing.
“He’s a brute, Daniel, but he’s not quick on his feet. You can take him,” Uncle Logan shouted, grinning at his son-in-law. Uncle Logan loved to taunt the lad, though he was clearly quite fond of him.
“Don’t go easy on me,” Daniel pressed. “I need to learn how to fight with both arms, Cailean.”
The two battled for a quarter of an hour before Will finally shouted, “I declare a tie.”
Daniel fell back with a smile. He hadn’t bested the Ramsay warrior, but he’d held his own. He clasped Cailean’s shoulder and said, “My thanks.”
Daniel felt as though he’d been given a new life. Every night, he thought of all the new things he’d be able to do now that he had two hands. The grasping mechanism was still clumsy, but he’d learned how to hold a shield with the pressure from his arm, just because he had that wee bit of extension. He’d also been working with Maggie and Will on holding an arrow in place, and while he’d gained some ground, he couldn’t stabilize the bow enough to shoot straight.
He knew these things took practice, but it gave him hope—hope that he might be seen as a normal man instead of a cripple. He hated how his missing hand was the first thing people noticed about him. Not his laugh or his dark hair or his muscular build, but his missing appendage.
With Treun, it wasn’t so noticeable. It looked like his hand was stuck inside the sleeve.
Almost normal.
After the fight, Uncle Logan came up and patted him on the back. “Well done. I’m sure your sire is as pleased with that performance as I am.”
“Papa? What say you about my new attachment?” He wiped the sweat off his brow with his sleeve.
“Allow me to look at it again, please?” his sire asked quietly, his eyes on Treun.
Daniel brought it over to him, demonstrating the mechanism inside that allowed him to grip. “’Tis still quite clumsy, and I’m raw in spots from the rubbing, but Aunt Brenna and Jennet have been adjusting it every day.”
“I’ll be sure to thank the lasses. I hope you can continue to make it work, Daniel. Your mother and brother will be pleased.” He nodded to Logan and turned around to head back to the keep—but not before Daniel saw the tears in his eyes.
“Aye. Now that I’ve seen you in action, I have a proposal for the Band of Cousins. Will and Maggie will be here in a moment. Gather around,” Uncle Logan said. “Cailean, go clean up. Your place is with my daughter.”
Once the big man departed, Gavin, Gregor, Will, Maggie, and Daniel fell in around Uncle Logan, waiting for him to speak. “The king, while still in mourning, is even more intent on discovering who’s in charge of the network, especially since so many of our young people have been jeopardized by it. He wants us to go underground, pretend to be interested in buying or selling lasses, see what we can find out.”
“All of us?” Maggie asked.
“Nay, I doubt you’ll be successful in this mission, Maggie. We haven’t learned of any females who are involved. I also fear Will’s reputation will give away his identity. I think it should be the four of you. Gavin, Gregor, Connor and now Daniel. I think you can all fend for yourselves and one another. I’m sending you out on the morrow, so rest up. You’ve trained enough. You need to be in top shape for this. I have no idea what you’ll find.”
Daniel glanced at the other three, and he could tell from the look of them they were agreeable.
“You’ll all do it?”
Four heads nodded.
Daniel finally had a purpose.
Chapter Eleven
Constance pulled out the Bible, wishing the light was better so she could read, but just holding it close comforted her. She sat in her own cubby, locked in with a chamber pot, a Bible, and an urn of water to keep her company. The abbess came to visit her on a daily basis, asking her for the truth, but she would not budge. She guessed this prison was likely better than whatever her sire would do to punish her if she were to return home.
While she loved her sire, he was a firm believer in right and wrong. And if you were wrong, you would pay as befitted your crime. He’d done a fine job of instilling a fear of punishment in Constance and her siblings, especially after his public flogging of Mungo. Up to that point, she’d never believed all her brothers’ tales of the beatings they’d endured for misbehaving, but after that, she’d changed her mind. She’d feared the price of breaking rules too much to challenge her sire.
Until that fateful day.
She shook her shoulders, swearing not to think on it again.
They fed her twice a day, so conditions were not so bad. Ada had snuck down one night to speak with her, giving her a wee bit of support and also a piece of fruit, but Constance had begged her not to risk getting herself into trouble.
She missed the bairns, especially Kelby, but she missed Daniel more. Memories of his soft lips and tender touch kept her going, though she knew she’d probably never see him again. What had she been thinking to ever consider him as a suitor? She wasn’t worthy of him.
She knew the mother abbess. She could be ruthless and relentless. Eventually, she would discover the truth about Constance’s sire on her own. When she sent for him, which she most certainly would do, Constance would be whisked away to a new prison. Why hadn’t she told Daniel why it was paramount for her to stay hidden? She knew he thought she didn’t trust him to protect her, but nothing could be further from the truth. Daniel would protect her with his life.
She didn’t deserve that.
Her mind also kept darting to her dear sister Denise and her best friend, Rose. How she missed both of them. Would she ever see her sister again? Tears misted on her lashes again, though she tried to squeeze them away. Crying would not help.
Something caught her ear. Loud banging on a door upstairs
carried down to the cellars. She was the only one being punished at the moment, so she was left alone with her panic. Standing up from her pallet, she moved over to the door to listen through the small rectangle cut into the top.
“I tell you there is no one here who looks as you describe, so take your leave now.” The mother abbess was clearly upset, Constance could hear it in her tone. Her voice grew louder and louder. “Go away. Guards! Where are you?”
“We have your guards surrounded. Because you’re an abbey, we’ll not kill them, but I won’t leave without searching the place. I want every flame-haired lass brought to me. Every last one!” The man’s booming voice carried all the way down the staircase as though he were standing next to her.
“As you wish,” the mother abbess said, her voice rising with every word. “Your request is for a woman fully grown. I have two flame-haired bairns under five summers, and they both cry incessantly. Is that what you wish? To take a crying bairn away from me? The Lord will make you pay. He will strike you down.”
She heard a loud slap followed by a light squeal from the abbess. A male voice said, “Get them now.” She heard the abbess’s footsteps above her, and she prayed over and over that these evil men would not take the wee ones. What would happen if they came down into the cellars and found her?
There was a possibility that these men were not looking for her. After all, she was not the only flame-haired lass in Scotland. But what if they were searching for her? What if her father had hired fifty men to search all the castles and abbeys in the land? He had the coin to do so.
She pulled her mother’s amulet out of her sewn-in pocket and rubbed it, hoping it would bring her luck. Rubbing it as fast as she could, she prayed for the men to leave without taking anyone.
The man said, “Search this place.”
Highland Fortitude (The Band of Cousins Book 5) Page 7